Effect of External Load at Varying Hand Positions on Perceived Discomfort |
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| Authors: | Dohyung Kee Seokhee Na |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea;2. Division of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea |
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| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of external load at varying hand positions on discomfort, and to provide a new classification of external load. An experiment was carried out in which 16 postures with an external load of 0, 1.5, 3 kg were tested. The postures were controlled by 2 independent variables of hand distance and hand height. The subjects were instructed to rate their perceived discomfort with magnitude estimation after holding a given posture for 1 min. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) exhibited that the main effects of the 3 independent variables were statistically significant for discomfort. Discomfort increased linearly with external load and hand distance. Hand height showed a quadratic relation with discomfort, which exhibited a slightly different trend from hand distance and external load. Based on the results, a new classification of external load was proposed with 3 classes grouped by perceived discomfort. |
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| Keywords: | perceived discomfort postural stress external load hand position |
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